Born and raised in Connecticut.Attended Cornell University (BA, Psychology, 1982).Lived in New York City for 17 years, working in the advertising agency business.Experienced midlife crisis (thank God) in 1999: quit the ad biz, left New York, struck out for the west, and never looked back.Hung out in Montana for a year.Went to grad school at the U. of Oregon (MA, Journalism/literary nonfiction, 2002)Went to more grad school at the U. of New Mexico (Ph.D., communication, 2005).Got a job teaching at a small private college in Ohio.Left after a year when the opportunity to move back to Montana presented itself.Currently an assistant professor at Montana State U. in Billings. (Also currently the #1 rated Scrabble player in Montana.)Appeared on Jeopardy! in October 2008.Writing/research interests: political communication, media, popular culture, languages and linguistics.